Center for Global Migration Studies Forums

The rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany forced thousands of Jews to flee Germany before and during the Second World War. Those Jewish refugees from Germany aboard the SS St. Louis desperately made their way to America only to be turned away by the Roosevelt Administration in 1939. This special screening of the film Complicit explores this untold account and features interviews of some of these refugees who later returned to the United States. Following the screening, several panelists, including survivors from the SS St. Louis, will speak. This event is hosted by the Center for Global Migration Studies, and co-sponsored by the Nathan and Jeannette Miller Center for Historical Studies, and the Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies.

Read more about the 2017 forum.

Throughout the 2016 Presidential race, immigration has proven a dominant topic for both Democrats and Republicans. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have radically different policy approaches to the various immigration issues that face the United States and the world, including border security, paths to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and ongoing refugee crises in Central and South America as well as the Middle East. This forum will bring together panelists with a diverse range of knowledge and experience to discuss the candidates' approaches to immigration. Please join us for this important discussion as we sort through the fact and fiction of candidates' claims and interrogate how proposed policies will affect various facets of American life.

Read more about the 2016 forum.

In recent months, the world has been transfixed by the unfolding crisis in the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Europe as migrants have desperately sought out places of refuge and opportunity. Migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe in numbers last seen after the end of World War II, transforming demographics and energizing debates about citizenship, identity, and human rights. This panel brings together experts from diverse backgrounds to provide context for understanding the crisis and to consider its long-term implications. This event is co-sponsored by the Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies.

Read more about the 2015 forum.

On October 15, we will be co-sponsoring an event that will address the issues of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. This event will feature a conversation with Alicia Garza entitled, "On the 21st Century Civil Rights Movement."

A social activist committed to challenging society to recognize and celebrate the contributions of all individuals, specifically black people and queer communities, Alicia Garza is the co-creator of the viral twitter hastag and movement, #BlackLivesMatter, a national organizing project which has evolved into the banner under which this generation's civil rights movement marches.

The event is co-sponsored by The Office of Diversity and Inclusion; American Studies; U.S. Latino/a Studies; MICA; The Critical Race Initiative (Department of Sociology); College of Agriculture and Natural Resources; School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; College of Arts and Humanities; College of Behavioral and Social Sciences; Robert H. Smith School of Business; College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences; College of Education; A. James Clark School of Engineering; The Graduate School; Philip Merrill College of Journalism; College of Information Studies; UM School of Public Health; School of Public Policy; Undergraduate Studies; University Libraries; African American Studies; Asian American Studies; and The Department of Women's Studies.

Read more about the 2015 forum.

Come join us on October 15 as we host a round table discussion about so-called "sanctuary cities." Our panelists will examine these sanctuary cities and their place in larger debates about racial justice in the US today and in the past. Panelists include Mark Shmueli (former member of Governor's Commission to Study the Impact of Immigration on the State of Maryland), Sameeera Hafiz (National Domestic Worker's Alliance), and Dr. Antoine Banks (Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland).

This event is in conjunction with the Center for American Politics and Citizenship, the Federal Bar Association, MICA, and the Asian American Studies Program.

Read more about the 2015 forum.

Co-sponored by the Latin American Studies Center, this forum was moderated by Daryle Williams. João José Reis presented his paper, titled "Social Mobility among Africans in Nineteenth-Century Brazil: The Case of Manoel Ricardo" while Keila Grinberg presented her paper titled "Re-enslavement among Africans in Brazil's Nineteenth-Century Southern Frontier: The Case of Rufina." Click on the image below for a PDF describing these papers in more detail.

Read more about the 2012 forum.

Armed Xenophobia: The Global War Against Immigrants was co-sponosred by the Nathan and Jeanette Miller Center for Historical Studies to discuss the world-wide upswell of violence against immigrants, its root causes, various manifestations, and global political implications. The forum grew out of the horrific events in Norway in July 2011, when a right-wing terrorist obsessed with the threat of multiculturalism and Muslim immigration to the cultural and patriotic values of his country murdered some 77 men and women, and terrorized thousands more. While at the extreme, the violence in Norway reflects similar anti-immigrant violence in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas--including the United States. On February 16th, prize-winning journalist Jeffrey Kaye gave the keynote address. On February 17th, there was a roundtable discussion with leaders scholars on immigration Carolyn Brown (Assistant Professor of Journalism, American University), Marlène Laruelle (Research Professor of International Affairs, George Washington University), Mark Miller (Professor of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware), and Susan Terrio (a cultural anthropologist teaching at Georgetown University).

Read more about the 2012 forum.

This forum, co-sponsored by the Latin American Studies Center, addressed the local and national significance of the DREAM Act for Latin American immigrants and Marylanders in general. In May 2011, Maryland passed the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act and became the eleventh state in the nation to grant undocumented students in-state tuition at public institutions of higher learning. The law has been challenged by a petition drive calling for a referendum in November 2012. In August, Casa de Maryland, a non-profit organization devoted to advancing the rights of Latino immigrants, challenged the legality of the petition drive in court.

Read more about the 2011 forum.

Featured Speakers: Ira Berlin, Distinguished University Professor of History and Julie Greene, Professor of History

Since 1965, legal and demographic changes have made the United States an immigrant society once again. Inspired by this fact, the Center for the History of the New America aims to make the University of Maryland the hub for understanding the long immigration history of this country, from 1500 to the present, and its connections to world history. The Center will provide a distinctive institutional home for interdisciplinary and trans-national research, for training faculty and students, and for distributing information about the history of the immigrant experience to a broad public.

The forum brought in many students, administrators, and professors interested in the new center.

Read more about the 2011 forum.